MED I
The goal of the clinical skills program is to create a learning environment that facilitates the acquisition of a set of skills to be integrated with the cognitive, problem solving, medical humanities and laboratory medicine domains.  These contribute to an evidenced-based approach to diagnosis and a patient-centred approach to care. By early November of Med I students begin seeing patients.

Surgeons and residents contribute to the teaching of many of these sessions (ie gastrointestinal, breast and colorectal exam, musculoskeletal).

MED II
Commencing in September, Med II students participate in the Clinical Patient Assessment program.  The class is divided into small groups and each are scheduled to interview and examine patients on an assigned surgical specialty service; followed by presentations and discussions on their findings.   The students will be able to:

• Conduct a focused problem oriented history and physical exam.
• Document the information in an acceptable format.
• Present orally the results.
• Demonstrate the techniques used to elicit or to rule out relevant abnormal findings.
• Demonstrate appropriate communication skills of physician-patient communication.

TRANSITION TO CLERKSHIP (TTC) PROGRAM
The purpose of the Transition to Clerkship (TTC) portion of the Undergraduate medical curriculum is connect the first two years (pre-clerkship) to the last two years (clerkship).   The TTC Program prepares students for their clerkship training, as a whole, providing education sessions over a five-week period with all medical disciplines contributing focused aspects of their specialty.

The aim of the surgical transition to clerkship is to:

• Familiarize the student with the practice of surgery; and
• Provide the student with a practical approach to various pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative aspects of surgical care.

At the completion of the surgical pre-clerkship, the student will understand the principles of the following procedures:

• Nasogastric tube insertion
• Basic suturing and knot tying
• Operating room conduct and scrub techniques
• Foley catheter insertion
• Casting procedures